Spectators

ARTICLES ABOUT SPECTATORS BY DATE - PAGE 5

Two court spectators were charged with assaulting U.S. deputy marshals Wednesday after a disturbance in a courtroom at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse. Witnesses said U.S. District Judge Joan Gottschall was in the middle of her morning court call when a defendant in a drug conspiracy case began talking to relatives in the gallery. He had to be restrained and taken from the courtroom after he ignored requests to keep quiet by court personnel, they said. Marshals said the defendant, Mario Reeves, had to be Tasered as he was moved to a holding cell, prompting his mother and another man to come to the front of the courtroom.

Singing along with a movie in public is just one of those things: Some folks adore the idea, some would rather die a miserable, prolonged, non-musical death. Whatever else you want to say about these times, we're living in a golden age of cinematic karaoke, the chief example of which is the singalong version of "Mamma Mia!" The idea is not new; it's simply new to the world of first-run attractions. Recently the Wilmette Theatre hosted a singalong "Mary Poppins" engagement. And the Music Box Theatre exhorted "Under the Sea" fans to work on their Broadway belts via "The Little Mermaid."

CROWD ZAPPED: Five people remained in intensive care Monday, a day after lightning injured nine spectators attending a soccer game at a Boston park. The youngest victim was 13 years old, while the oldest was in his 40s; all were expected to survive. BORDER CRASH: A Mexican citizen accused of driving more than 20 illegal immigrants in a GMC Suburban that plunged into a California canal on Friday, killing six of them, has been arrested on suspicion of smuggling, federal authorities said Monday.

Paul Sneddon had planned to rope off his roses and day lilies in advance of Friday's 4th of July parade in Arlington Heights. But by the time he returned home from dinner out Thursday night, the parkway in front of his home had become a patchwork of tarps, tartans, serapes, quilts and tablecloths anchored by lawn chairs and bricks. Though it was still hours before the parade, Sneddon had to usher spectators off his lawn and station his 20-year-old daughter Tanya to stand sentry on the doorstep.

The intensified assaults on human rights at home and abroad by the Chinese government as it prepares to stage the Summer Olympics demand more than diplomatic scolding and torch-dousing protests in London, Paris, San Francisco and beyond. Sports fans planning on occupying stadium seats at the Beijing Olympics in August should stay home and shame China's repressive leaders with a spectator boycott. This may seem a strange plea for someone from Chicago, which is competing to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Anne Murphy had never seen anything quite like the unusual vote by the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board to endorse a controversial new hospital in Crystal Lake. Vice Chairman Stuart Levine began the vote on April 21, 2004, on the proposed Mercy Hospital with a "yes." Member Imad Almanaseer then passed. And so it went down the table as the hospital panel met at the Holiday Inn in the River North neighborhood in Chicago until Chairman Thomas Beck was called to vote. Murphy, testifying Tuesday at the corruption trial of Antoin "Tony" Rezko, said that was the point when some on the panel appeared to start conducting a little business of their own. The Mercy vote is a critical piece of the government's case against Rezko, a friend and fundraiser for Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

By Sarah Abruzzese, New York Times News Service and The Washington Post contributed to this report | February 17, 2008

A car crashed into a group of spectators watching an illegal street race staged here in the early-morning hours on a dark highway Saturday, killing eight people and sending six others to the hospital. The accident happened about 3 a.m., police said, when a car not involved in the race, but traveling northbound along Maryland Route 210, plowed into spectators who may have been standing in the roadway, said Cpl. Clinton Copeland, a spokesman for the Prince George's County Police Department.

Sunday marks the 30th anniversary of the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, when more than 35,000 people will run the 26.2 mile course throughout Chicago. Registration for runners closed April 18, the earliest close in the history of the marathon, after the maximum capacity of participants had been reached, said Marianne Caponi, spokeswoman for the marathon. However, because of drop-outs, out of the 45,000 who registered it is estimated that between 35,000 and 37,000 runners will actually take part in the race, Caponi said.

On Monday, the great Studs Terkel received the medal of honor from the Actors Fund. Brian Stokes Mitchell, the president of the welfare organization for show people, flew in from New York to make a gracious presentation. Terkel, ever the booster of his beloved Chicago, told the New York delegation that -- at this point in history -- Chicago was a far more interesting place to see theater. Nobody disagreed. You certainly have your choice. This weekend alone in Chicago contains about 10 opening nights.

A 42-year-old man was so enraged by a foul during a boys' soccer match in Hassloch, Germany, that he karate kicked the 8-year-old then jumped on him, police said. Reuters reports that other spectators, mostly parents of the children playing in the indoor match, piled in behind the man to restrain him and prevent any serious injuries to the boy.